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My first experience of Lake Clark National Park & Preserve was a glimpse of a waterfall, falling hundreds of feet from sheer rock cliffs. The clouds parted again, and this time I spotted the jagged, turquoise peaks of a glacier splayed out between mountain peaks like the tongue of some gargantuan ice god.

They say nobody likes you when you’re 23, and let me tell you, my bank account definitely isn’t a fan of 23-year-old Molly. Over Independence Day weekend, I took my second spontaneous out-of-state trip of the summer (very delayed Memorial Day weekend post coming soon). One moment I was joking with friends from Denver about hanging out for the long weekend, and an hour later we were getting confirmation emails for a three… Read More

It took three highway-side moose encounters, but I now play it moderately cool when I spot those antlers lumbering down the shoulder of the road ahead. Or at least I don’t scream as loudly anymore, anyways.

Well, we made it. Man, is it good to be on the other side of 2016. But as much as 2016 was a burning dumpster fire of a year, it brought a lot of good things to me. There were bumpy rides in the back of safari jeeps under the stars, summer nights screaming along to concerts with my best friends, and a whole lot of silly moments. I sweated bullets on… Read More

Thursday morning, I took my last snow-blown bike ride into work. Even with the tear-inducing cold blurring my vision, I watched the bright stars above the mountains and added those pitch black, 8:30AM rides to the list of things I will miss in Seward. It’s a long list. It’s been a busy three months, between working at the national park, writing for the local paper, and trudging on in the job search…. Read More

Since I arrived in Anchorage two weeks ago with a couple of duffle bags and a lot of ridiculous notions about the great, wild, last frontier (mostly from movies), I’ve learned a lot. Alaska is somehow both more and less rugged than I had predicted- I buy my shockingly expensive groceries at a big ol’ Safeway, not a dusty local shop, but live in an apartment reminiscent of a summer camp I… Read More

As the antithesis of morning person, it surprised me how much I loved the rise-with-the-sun rhythm of being on safari. After the first moments of pre-dawn torture before someone put a muffin in my hands and got me in the safari rover, there is nothing to wake you up faster than driving manically over small trees and through thorn-covered bushes to watch a leopard stalk its prey. By our second day in… Read More

Last month, I touched down on the African continent for the first time ever for a family trip around South Africa. We were meeting my parents a short flight away from their new home in Angola for the chance to see the big five on safari, drink our way through world-renowned vineyards, climb mountains, and enjoy Cape Town all in one trip. And it definitely didn’t disappoint. Over the weeks we spent… Read More